Belladonna
by Liquidation
Summary: He knew he shouldn't have come here. He knew he should have walked away when they first met. He knew he should have followed his instincts and went back home... but he didn't. They were two opposing forces, yet there was always something that made him come back and made her wait for him.


He found himself standing at the threshold once again in the dark night. He knew he shouldn't have come here. He knew he should have walked away when they first met. He knew he should have followed his instincts and went back home, but he didn't. Now, he stood at the French doors of her apartment in New York City, trying to make the final decision to leave or stay and like he always did, he chose to stay.

Opening the doors, he stepped into the dimly lit apartment and looked around for her. She stood not too far by in the kitchen, mixing herself a glass of bourbon and gin. She had already knowingly made one for him as well. She didn't look up at him, but she had a smirk on her face as she finished making her drink. She knew he was hers to command.

"Jack," she greeted silkily and sauntered over to him, offering him a drink. "What brings you here?"

"Oh you know, just thought I'd stop by and say hi," he replied casually, taking the alcoholic beverage from her. She continued to smile at him, her black eyes seeing straight through him. They both knew the real reason he was here for.

"Come, make yourself comfortable," she offered as they moved themselves to the living room. She sat down on the chasse lounge while he sat in the chair across from her. A table sat between them with a bottle of wine and two glasses already prepared on it.

Her apartment was small and cozy and well decorated with the trinkets she picked up throughout her life as an immortal. She was as old as time though she looked no older than he. Jack eyed the girl in front of him. Unlike the other immortals, she was always wearing something different every time he saw her. He noted that it was always some variant of black. Tonight, she was wearing a strapless black dress, exposing the vine tattoo crawling up her upper right arm and onto her neck and sternum. She was inhumanly beautiful and maybe that was the reason he was always drawn back to her. Her soft black waves stirred around her heart-shaped face like rippling black ink, her skin was pale but had a heavenly glow to it, her face was one someone could not easily forget, her lips were redder than blood, her eyes were immensely black and fathomless and shaded by thick long lashes, and her soft, curvy body molded perfectly to his as if she was made for him, but no matter how hard he tried to believe that he was only attracted to her because of her appearance, he couldn't convince himself.

"So, Jack, how have you been? Done anything interesting lately?"

He shrugged. "Not really, just the usual; making cold fronts, meeting with the other guardians, playing with the kids in Burgess…"

"Sounds like fun. Maybe I'll go visit you sometime," she replied innocently, but she just received a scowl from the winter spirit. She looked down at her drink, wearing a far-off smile. They both knew that he could step into her world, but she couldn't step into his. She would just destroy it. She noted how he never touched the drink she made him. He never did. He was so good, so innocent and maybe that was the reason why she never turned him away. He was too good for the likes of her. She brought her drink to her lips, downing it all, and savored the burning sensation in her throat. Placing the glass on the table, she continued. "I'm just kidding with you. I like it too much here in New York to leave. I couldn't settle down in a peaceful little town like you can." Which was true. She was a wanderer, a free spirit, untamable and unpredictable like a flame. It was in her nature and maybe that's why he was so afraid she'd lose interest in him.

"Maybe you could learn," he offered with a hint of hope, though he knew well that it was impossible.

"Suggest that again in about another five hundred years, Jacky. Maybe by then I'll be ready," she joked and opened the bottle of wine. Once she had a full glass in her hand, she went on. "I've been thinking about moving again. Maybe I'll go to Los Angeles or Vegas. I was thinking about going out of the country too. Maybe somewhere like London or Tokyo. I've lived in New York too long."

"Going from Burgess to New York is a long journey as it is. I probably won't be able to see you as often."

Her smile faltered, but she quickly schooled her face before he noticed. "Yeah, well I've been wanting to travel more. I haven't done it in a while. I've been here for the past five years. That's the longest I've stayed anywhere for in my whole life as an immortal."

"You could stay longer?" he suggested, trying to figure her out but her dark eyes gave away nothing.

She shrugged and moved onto another topic as well her third glass of wine. "How are your guardian duties?"

"Alright I suppose. Since we defeated Pitch years ago, it's been kind of boring. Manny will give us the occasional mission, though none of them are really exhilarating."

"And how are the other guardians?" she asked carefully. She knew the other guardians were wary of her and saw her as a threat. She was a threat. She had great power, but even after thousands of years, her powers were still unstable and uncontrollable. She was like a poison. Everywhere she went, her powers leaked out and spread like a virus, infecting far away places. When she first met Jack, she thought that the guardians had sent him to keep an eye on her. She wouldn't be surprised if that was still the case.

"Good. North is working on Christmas which is in a couple of weeks, Tooth is still as busy as ever, Sandy is out working right now, and the kangaroo is still being a joy kill."

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards. "That's good. I haven't met with any of the other immortals in a long time. You are obviously one of the recent ones."

He gave her a crooked smile. "For someone who can't stay in one place, you don't seem to encounter a lot of people."

"It doesn't matter. Everyone who's had an appearance in my life soon becomes a distant memory anyway." She gave him an easy smile and put down her glass. "And eventually, you will be too," she stated nonchalantly, as if it didn't affect her at all.

In an instant, he crossed over to her and kissed her passionately as if trying to prove her wrong and make her stay. He needed to convince both her and himself that this wouldn't be the last time they would meet. She kissed him back as always and pulled him down onto the lounge with her, forgetting everything she had said. In that moment, they forgot all of their doubts and reasons why they should stay away. They were opposites. They were never meant to be. Joy and corruption. Innocence and sin. Give and take. Comfort and poison. White and black. Good and evil. They were two opposing forces, yet there was always something that made him come back and made her wait for him.

She woke up in the night, tangled in the black satin sheets of her bed and pressed against his bare chest. She could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest, his soft heartbeat, his strong arms wrapped around her, and his light breathing against her hair. She couldn't help but give a wry smile as she had a feeling of déjà vu. She untangled herself from him without waking him and padded over to the window. Flurries fluttered down from the heavens and covered the New York street below in white. His overdue presence had brought a snowdrift through the city. Up above, she stared at the full moon with a blank expression.

"I bet you're laughing at me right now," she murmured. "That someone like me would stop listening to my brain and let my emotions control my actions." She shook her head and gave a dry laugh. "His naivety must be rubbing off on me."

She heard him stir, pulling her out of her reverie. She went back to the bed where her lover lay and joined him. He held her close and buried his face in her black curls, afraid that one day, he may lose her. Before they were both pulled into a deep sleep, he murmured her name under his breath.

"Belladonna…"

He was the guardian of joy, bringing fun and laughter and protecting children all over the world. She was the bringer of corruption, spreading sin and disbelief to all like a plague. And yet, as they held each other in their arms, they couldn't convince themselves that it was wrong.


End file.
